Dragon Master
by XXXpossessedforlifeXXX
Summary: Its always been Ash's dream to become the great Dragon Master that Lance is and to raise the strongest team of dragons he can find. Instead of a pikachu, Ash gets a far more promising starter, and with it, begins his path to become the strongest trainer in existence.
1. Chapter 1

**Here's something I always wanted to do, have Ash specialize in my favorite type of pokemon: dragon-types. So obviously he won't have too many pokemon, but the one's he will get will be good.**

There were many potent and regal pokemon in the world, Ash had to admit, but by far the most awe-inspiring were dragons.

They were gargantuan creatures, brimming with power just a step below Legendaries. Their heavily armored and scaled bodies were virtually impenetrable, capable of weathering anything short of a barrage of Hyper Beams, and even then, there were dragons who could persist through even that. They were like creatures out of fairytales: monstrously powerful and capable of flying miles high into the sky, their majestic bodies being outlined in the glow of the sun or luminosity of the moon.

Ash was currently waiting patiently outside the legendary Professor Oak's laboratory where he would collect a starter pokemon. Once trainers were 13, at least in Kanto, they were allowed to embark on their own journeys. As far as Ash knew, the starting age in Johto was the same, although it was 11 in the other regions. He supposed it should make sense, since Kanto and Johto were united under the same League, led by the champion _Lance._

The titanic red haired man played a huge role in Ash's dreams to be a dragon master. The Champion was like a hero out of the same stories dragons were from, capable of taming the nigh indestructible beasts. Standing at well above six feet with his tattered yet regal cape swaying behind him and his juggernaut of a dragonite flanking him, he exuded command, respect, and power. He was Ash's role model.

"Hey loser, I'm surprised you even came. Do you honestly think you'll be able to manage as a trainer?" An obnoxious sneer broke in to his thoughts, and Ash groaned silently. It was Gary, Professor Oak's grandson, and Ash's former best friend now rival. Ash wasn't exactly sure what exactly had spurned the two apart, but he knew it was Gary who had changed; Ash remained the cheerful yet wise child he'd always been.

"Yeah I do, actually." Ash retorted. "You should be asking yourself that, since you're the one who's lounging around in the lab all day instead of getting used to the outdoors." Perhaps it wasn't the most witty of retorts, but it had served its purpose well. Gary gritted his teeth and the other two trainers lightly giggled.

Ritchie and Leaf. They were the other two trainers awaiting their pokemon. Ash was quite close with them, although the one-sided crush Leaf had on him made situations quite awkward at times. Ritchie was friendly enough, although he behaved too much like Ash for the latter's comfort. The fact that before Ash's haircut Ritchie had looked almost exactly like him wasn't disquieting either.

"Ah, hello Leaf, Ritchie, Ash, Gary." The Professor's warm greeting broke the tension as he stepped out of his lab. "Today is perhaps the most important day of your lives. You are now ready to embark on your journey as a pokemon trainer! Perhaps you may not like training and you will pursue the path of a coordinator-" Gary snorted -"but either way, you are about to leave home to make the best friends you'll ever make in your lives."

Ash was listening intently. He respected the Professor greatly. The aging man was almost as reverent to him as Lance was. The Professor had been the Champion in his youth, perhaps in his mid-twenties, and he certainly had an impenetrable team to sport. The aging man even owned a dragonite of his own, one that could pose a serious threat to Lance's cornerstone dragonite, taking into account its decades of laziness. Oak had been virtually omnipotent before he decided to settle as a researcher; he could boast of myriads of pokemon under his possession, all fully capable of defeating Elite Four leveled pokemon. All in all, the Professor remained formidable even after all these years of research, and still commanded great reverence from the pokemon community internationally.

Oak continued droning on, and Ash caught on that pokedexes had already been preprogrammed for them, which was definitely a boon in terms of time. Ash was now tiring of the Professor's speech, and was relieved when the old man finally stopped, although he snickered as Oak glared at Gary's open acts of impatience.

"Now, I have the three standard pokemon to offer as a starter to you, or you may wait for a bit before you choose the other pokemon I offer." Before Ash could react, oblivious to Gary's chortles that it wouldn't be him, the Professor shot a meaningful look at him and subtly nodded. Ash grinned and instantly stepped forward, saying, "I'll do it guys. I'll take the one later."

Leaf beamed at him in admiration while Ritchie nodded in approval. Gary yawned, uninterested by Ash's ostensible forfeit, and when the old man plucked three pokeballs from his belt, each emblazoned with symbols of fire, grass, and water respectively, Gary immediately dove for the pokeball sporting the design of water. The Professor groaned at Gary's antics whereas the other three rolled their eyes. The spiky-haired boy had been crooning about the future blastoise he'd have by his side ever since he was ten, and the other three aspiring trainers had come to accept that they simply could not choose squirtle as a starter.

Leaf stepped forward next, pausing for a moment before delicately plucking the ball with a leaf engraved on it from Oak's palm. It contained a bulbasaur, Ash knew, which was essentially a dinosaurian creature with a bulb on its back. It would evolve to a venasaur one day, which was simply a larger and bulkier version of bulbasaur.

Ritchie was last, and maintained a pleased countenance as he grabbed the ball engraved with a flame, containing the pokemon Ash had initially opted to choose: charmander. The spirited lizards would evolve into the massive, incredibly powerful dragons, charizard. Their power and temper were infamous and could careen to no bounds. But Ash knew that the pokemon Oak had preselected for him would diminish any qualms he had about not receiving a charmander.

Ash watched with idle interest as the three trainers released their starters. Gary immediately crooned, "Hahaha, I'm gonna wipe the floor with you losers. Which one of you is up for a defeat on your first day?"

Leaf stepped forward, exuding a calm demeanor. Then again, Bulbasaur did have the type advantage, yet Ash doubted any of the three pokemon knew any moves of their respective typing yet. True to his thoughts, Bulbasaur did win. It wasn't much of a victory, just repeated tackling from the dinosaurian plant and its superior mass that brought down the turtle. Gary sneered, "You got lucky, Leafy. Next time I'll win." He sprayed a potion on Squirtle, recalled it, and hastily made his way out of the town. Ash hoped that he'd not need to encounter his rival again until the Indigo Conference.

The Professor sighed at his grandson's brashness and impromptu loss. "I hope he doesn't blindly challenge trainers again. He really needs to think more sometimes." The three trainers were tempted to add on to that remark, but wisely decided to stay silent.

"Well, Professor, this is it, me and Ritchie will be off. We'll be travelling together until Cerulean." Leaf turned to Ash, a hopeful expression on her face. "And Ash, you're welcome to join us too of course." Ritchie nodded in ascent. The wilderness surrounding Pallet could pose a significant threat to novice trainers, namely the flocks of tenacious spearow residing there. It was rare that trainers emerged unscathed from there.

Yet Ash shook his head no. "Sorry guys, but I want to do this myself. I'd rather travel alone than with others, even if its for a short amount of time." He couldn't help but feel guilty at the look of hurt splayed over Leaf's face, but he couldn't have feelings interfering with his path as a trainer.

"I see...just...give me calls from time to time, ok?" She waved as she and Ritchie began trudging towards the path leading out of Pallet.

Ash gave a genuine grin in response, nodding at her retreating form. He'd been planning to do so anyways. "Now, Professor, let's see about that pokemon now, huh?" He prodded, barely able to conceal his excitement. "How long is it going to take?"

"I already have the pokemon ready." The renown man laughed. "I just said it would take time to procure it to keep the other three from deciding to ask for it. I only got it yesterday, so I had no time to tell you I meant it for you.

"Now, Ash, I know you've been interested in becoming a dragon tamer, much like Lance is. You've always been helping me out at the lab and you've shown great promise, so I feel like you of all people deserves this." The Professor pulled out another pokeball from his pocket, this one lacking any form of emblazoning. He handed it to the eager raven-haired teen before him and continued, "Now, why don't you go on and call it out. Don't worry about any disobedience, it gets along surprisingly well with others for its kind."

Without further ado Ash released the pokemon from its confines, blinking in the face of the blinding light that flickered for a moment. It died down quickly to reveal a small creature, standing at about two feet high, covered in blue scales and sporting an iron dome on the top of its head. From years of studying and fascination, it instantly registered in Ash's mind what pokemon it was: a Bagon.

The premature form of salamence, the draconic terror of Hoenn for centuries in the past and easily on par with dragonite. But Ash would harness his bagon to _exceed_ dragonite.

He couldn't believe his luck. He'd been expecting a dratini, and would have been pleased with the exceedingly rare horsea, but bagon was simply far more _exotic._ It would be focal to strategies meant to unnerve opponents. If Ash started out with bagon, his opponents would assume he had more foreign pokemon to call upon, and wouldn't know what to expect of his next pokemon. Not to mention that the prospect of harnessing a salamence seemed far more promising than possessing a dragonite.

"Professor...I..." Ash was at a loss for words, drowning in gratitude. There simply wasn't any verbal response deserving enough of Oak for his gift.

The aging man merely smiled back in understanding. "Don't worry, Ash, you deserve this. No need to feel indebted to me. I still owe you for all your care and help. Now, take these pokeballs and this pokedex. Here's some potions while I'm at it, you never know what dangers you'll encounter on Route 1."

Ash glanced down at the minute dragon eyeing him with interest. "Well, Bagon, my name's Ash Ketchum, and I'm your new trainer! I'll make you as strong as you can be and I'll try my hardest to help you evolve into a salamence, but only if you accept me as your trainer!" The dragon nodded enthusiastically, having heard Ash say "salamence." It was the dream of every bagon to one day mature to their final stage and take to the skies with power and glory. "Well then, welcome to the team." Ash finished with satisfaction. He had already procured a dragon, and a pseudo-legendary on top of that. 'Hah, take that, Gary!' Ash thought with a smirk. Under the proper training regimine, his bagon would far outpace Gary's squirtle.

"Well Professor, I think it's time for me to head out. I already said bye to my mom, so I'll be leaving now."

"Ash, one last bit of advice. I understand you wish to be a dragon tamer, but that doesn't mean you can't have a few other pokemon that aren't dragons at all. If you find a pokemon to your liking, by all means, catch it, regardless of whether or not it's a dragon."

"I'll think about it, Professor. I guess I'm off now!" The young teen instantly took off, followed by a joyfully growling bagon. The Professor stood on his porch, watching his favorite pupil until he was a mere dot in distance. Oak smiled; he knew Ash would go far.

* * *

There were myriads of pokemon to be found in the vast wilderness that encompassed Route 1: pidgey, spearow, caterpie and their evolutions, rattata, geodude, and the odd pidgeotto or fearow. Yet Ash had no interest in catching any of them.

Pidgeotto could learn the dragon-type move, twister, where the user summoned a swirling tornado of draconic energy, yet it was too avian for Ash to want it. No, he would be _very_ selective in his captures.

The journey to Viridian City wasn't a waste, though; there were many young trainers to be found, mainly self-proclaimed bug specialists, and Bagon garnered tons of battle experience. According to the pokedex, the little dragon knew the moves: Leer, Bite, Ember, Dragonbreathe, and Rage. It was a versatile skill set, especially at such an early age, and with these moves Bagon made short work of the bugs standing in his way.

A low growl scattered his thoughts, and Ash looked up at the source. He grinned as he eyed the lone male nidoran that lowered its head aggressively, brandishing its poisonous horn. Bagon instantly stepped forward, snarling at the creature that dared provoke its trainer. Nidoran certainly weren't dragons, but they evolved into the proud monarchs, Nidoking. The monstrous dinosaurian creatures had always been awe-inspiring, and their versatility could only serve as a boon. It was decided, then. He was going to capture that nidoran.

"Bagon, leer!" Bagon's eyes narrowed menacingly and lit up a dark red color, effectively lowering the nidoran's defense. The poisonous rodent growled more intensely as it suddenly charged forward, ready to stab Bagon with its horn and inject its potent poison into the dragon's body. "Don't let it touch you or its over! Dragonbreathe!" Bagon immediately complied, opening his maw and hurling scalding green flames at the approaching nidoran. The unnatural flames certainly dealt massive damage, but to Ash's shock (and interest) the nidoran continued its charge, albeit greatly slowed, so when nidoran finally ran into Bagon, its horn failed to puncture the rough scales of the dragon.

"One more Dragonbreathe, Bagon, we've got to avoid physical moves!" Ash decided, knowing all too well the ability of all nidoran, Poison point. Physical contact with the creature would likely induce Bagon to become poisoned by the innumerable scales covering Nidoran, oozing with poison. The attack hit home, and nidoran was knocked back, the fight taken out of it. It was clearly at a far lower level than Bagon, but at least its efforts strained Bagon far more than the premature bugs he'd taken to beating in the past few hours.

Ash hurled a pokeball at the fallen nidoran, watching in anticipation as it opened up, producing a white light cloaking nidoran and brought him in the ball. It dropped to the ground with a dull thud and shook once...twice...and then a third time...

...

 _Ding._

The slight sound resonated in his head, refusing to be silenced. The moment was almost surreal. He, Ash Ketchum, had caught his first pokemon. It was only when a concerned Bagon prodded him when he really felt the euphoria.

"I just caught a pokemon!" Ash yelled at the top of his lungs, listening with idle interest to the echoes of his voice bouncing off against the innumerable trees surrounding him. He picked up the pokeball containing the injured nidoran and attached it to his belt. Bagon eyed Ash curiously, unsure of whether he should mimic his trainer's actions. In the end, dignity won out, and Bagon simply growled in victory.

"Great job, Bagon. All those bugs must've toughened you up for you to not be tired." The dragon growled again in affirmative, but an odd gleam shone in his eyes, and he froze as he glimpsed something behind Ash. "What is it?" Ash asked in concern as his body swiveled, already terrified of what it was that troubled the insurmountable dragon so greatly. He turned his head, and wished he hadn't.

A monstrously large avian raptor leered at him, perched on a branch a few feet above Ash's head, with a murderous and... _unstable_ look in his eye. It was a fearow, cruel airborne raptors that showed no mercy to those that found themselves within the territory of a fearow. But this specimen was _far_ larger and more potent than what Oak's books had documented them as, and the obvious lack of stability the bird exuded only frightened Ash further. He would not delude himself; Bagon stood absolutely no chance of surviving against the carnivorous raptor leering at them, despite the dragon's half-hearted growls.

He would die on his first day as a trainer.

Mere hours ago, he'd been in a petty squabble with Gary, but now, he was moments away from death. Bagon lurched forward, head held high in dignity, but Ash knew the dragon knew the futility of any resistance. Fearow simply did not let trespassers of its territory weaker than it out alive.

The bird suddenly sprang into motion, diving at Bagon trailed by a white aura. It was using Quick Attack, Ash realized, but the target wasn't Bagon; it was _him._

He threw himself out of the way, but yelped in pain as the fearow grazed him with a wing, snorting in murderous glee. "Bagon!" Ash yelled as he pushed himself up. "No sense in running, he's too fast! We'll keep fighting no matter how hopeless it is, now Leer followed up by Dragonbreathe!" Lowering Fearow's defense was essential if they wanted to secure any hopes of surviving. Fearow snorted in disdain, oblivious to its lowered defense, and batted aside the green flames launched towards it, though its wings were singed at the tips.

"I think it just got angrier..." Ash muttered, and yelped again as Fearow flapped its wide wings, creating a heavy gust that sent Bagon reeling towards Ash. The dragon was panting heavily now, and struggled to upright himself. Fearow was already inching towards them again, so there simply wasn't any time to heal Bagon with a potion. "Bagon, Leer lowers defense, not special defense. So use Bite when it comes closer. For now, play like you can't get up." Ash whispered, hatefully glaring at the raptor, who mockingly looked back. It abruptly dove towards Bagon, brandishing its wings as though they were blades. "Now!" Ash cried, and Bagon threw himself to his feet and opened his gaping maw, black aura flickering on his teeth. He ducked at Fearow jabbed a wing at him, and leaped up, latching onto Fearow's neck and slamming his jaws closed.

Ash blanched at the crimson drops of matter falling from Fearow's neck. He was torn between jumping in joy at Bagon's triumph and recoiling in abhorrence from the brutality of the blow. Ash never wanted to seriously injure a pokemon or... _kill_ one. But it seemed Bagon was in the process of doing just that, yet Ash couldn't find it in himself to halt the dragon. Fearow were simply too dangerous to be left beaten. Once they recovered, they would relentlessly track down their adversaries and brutally maul them to death. Yet...he couldn't allow a pokemon's life to be taken, even if the said pokemon wanted to do the same to him.

With a surge of resolve, Ash opened his mouth to call off Bagon, unwilling to jeopardize Fearow any further, but blanched once again as Fearow stopped its pained caws and mockingly glared at him. It was a _facade..._ the whole time, Bagon had barely been dealing any damage. It was a twisted _joke_ Fearow had performed, at Ash's expense.

Fearow took to the skies at a breakneck speed, soaring high past the canopy of the forest they were in, and swiveled and turned its body in the air, knocking Bagon loose and sending him plummeting to the earthy floor. "Bagon!" Ash screamed. He leaped into action, rushing to catch Bagon in his arms, uncaring of whether his arms would be broken from catching the dragon.

But he was too slow; with a thundering crash, the dragon hit the earthy ground, indenting it and instantly going unconscious. "No..." Ash said softly. It was over. The unstable raptor was simply too elite a pokemon to even attempt opposing. Ash didn't doubt it would take an elite four member to depose of it from the forest if it could sustain a crushing blow on its defenseless weak spot after having its defense lowered, without taking any damage. Bagon had only drawn mere _drops_ of blood, the same negligible amount of blood Ash could shed from a scratch.

But Ash refused to die meekly, to give Fearow what it wanted: total and complete fear. He would defy the titanic bird to his last breathe, and he wouldn't let Bagon be harmed any further over his dead body. "Hey, Fearow! Are you ready to kill us yet? Ready to kill us for stepping in your territory accidentally and with no bad intentions? I can't believe I was worried if Bagon was seriously hurting you or not, its pokemon like you that scare poeple away and give so many other pokemon a bad name." It was true; mainly because of territorial pokemon like Fearow, people assumed the worst about all pokemon.

Ash's eyes widened in begrudging awe at the sight of Fearow's lengthy and narrow beak spinning, rapidly building momentum. It was Drill Peck, Fearow's most powerful move, capable of penetrating virtually anything, especially if such a high level fearow was using it. It was rare for people to witness the raptors utilizing the attack, mainly because those that were seeing the attack were often the victims of it.

"Do it, then! Kill me!" Ash shouted, still standing over Bagon. He would do his best to keep the miniature dragon from being harmed. He was only grateful that Nidoran would remain unscathed, safely locked in the confines of the pokeball's stasis. Fearow had not seen the pokeball, and would not know how to open it anyhow, so the poisonous rodent was safe. It was a pity that Ash wouldn't be able to bond with it or ever raise the proud nidoking he'd always wanted to.

The bird finally dove at him, harnessing its rotating beak, ready to impale him. Ash shut his eyes, not willing to bear witness to the gore that would soon follow.

A fierce gale of wind sent him tumbling, and his eyes snapped open, fully aware that even Fearow, in all its power and glory, could do no such thing at such a close range.

Words failed him as his wildest dreams came to life, right before his very eyes. A mammoth orange-scaled behemoth, belittling even Fearow, hurled an arcing beam of vibrant thunder at the bird, knocking it out in a single blow.

"It's about time I got rid of that pest, I've been hearing about it for weeks now." The voice that inspired Ash's _life_ cut into his thoughts. Callous, reckless, wild, and _powerful._ Ash turned numbly to greet the wild-haired redhead approaching him.

Champion Lance grinned.

 **Very, very short, I know, but it would've been really bad to keep this going after the place where I ended things. I'll update the diamond and pearl story soon, but I likely will not continue The Trainer. I'm going to try and finish this story though. Anyways, please read and review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites guys. For some reason I can't view the reviews I got, idk why. Hopefully with the addition of this chapter that'll be fixed. Anyways, this is my primary focus right now mostly because I'm most interested in it, but don't worry, Diamond and Pearl will be updated as soon as possible. We left off last time with Lance saving the day, now let's see Ash's interaction with his hero.**

Ash simply could not find it within him to speak; the sight of the hero of his childhood dreams had awed him into silence. He could only gaze dumbfounded at the wildly grinning wild-haired man, towering a foot above Ash's 5'6.

The Champion, for his part, grinned wider in amusement upon noticing Ash's amazement. "Now, now, no need to be so shy. We're not so different, you and I, if what I saw from your battle with Fearow was any indication." Ash's ears burned red in mortification at the memory of his failed attempts to harm the massive raptor, but his heart soared after Lance's next words registered in his ears. "You _care_ for your pokemon, even though you're obviously only a rookie. You have great skill, being able to even retaliate against such a powerful foe. That fearow-" Lance jerked a finger at the crumpled figure of the bird, an iconic orange dragon presiding as guard over it-"-was easily Elite Four level, having honed its skills in the wild for far too long unchecked. Bruno certainly would've had trouble with it.

"You should be proud, trainer. I had the same qualities as you when I was this young. I can already see you're going far, especially with a dragon by your side."

The words resonating within Ash, his eyes wide and mouth still agape. His role-model...his hero...the man who inspired Ash into being who he _was..._ had just said Ash had the potential to one day be a champion. Never in his dreams had he imagined such praise would be bestowed upon him. But, it would be unfair to take all the credit, especially when Bagon had lasted as long as he did given the circumstances.

"Well, Lance, sir," Ash spoke up, "Thanks, it means a lot. But my buddy over there, Bagon, was the one who should really be congratulated for a job well done."

Lance offered another smile to Ash, this one less roguish and more meaningful. "Ah, yes, but you commanded him, and defended him with your own body even though you knew it was hopeless. Not many trainers would be capable of such a feat. And please, just call me Lance! Now tell me, what's your name?"

"A-Ash Ketchum." Ash forced resolve into his crackling voice.

"Hmmm...oh, I've heard that name! Professor Oak has spoken about you before!" Lance replied after thinking for a moment. "He speaks in very high regard of you"-Ash's eyes widened again at the influx of praise-"and his grandson." Pity. Gary had to ruin things again.

"Now let me heal up that Bagon of yours. An impressive specimen, I must say. Raise it properly and you'll have yourself a salamence even more impressive than my friend over there." Lance angled his head at the massive dragonite behind him, and the dragon waved cheerfully at the still confounded Ash.

This was the second dragonite Ash had ever seen up close in real life. The first had been Professor Oak's. Ash couldn't tell which dragon was more formidable, though Oak's dragonite's rugged plates certainly boasted of far more scars and claw-marks than Lance's. This dragonite stood at a bit over ten feet, towering over even the titanic Lance. Oak's dragonite was a bit bigger, but it had seen decades more of experience than Lance's. The wild-haired champion had only assumed the position about a decade ago, at the age of 18.

As of yet, he was the youngest champion to assume the throne in history, but Ash intended to change that.

As Bagon slowly opened his eyes, he let out a growl, but instantly froze at the sight of the behemoth hovering above the fearow splayed out on the ground.

The tension finally washed away as Ash let out a genuine laugh at the sight of his friend utterly terrified at the orange dragon smiling cheerfully at him. Lance joined in with callous, boisterous laughter, and it seemed as though that was something the champion did a lot. Ash mentally grimaced as he realized he must've looked the same way to Lance.

"Like I said before, I was here to put down the Fearow. I've heard reports about it and its strength was said to be overwhelming. Believe it or not, it travelled in a small flock of other similarly powerful fearow. They've taken down elite ranger teams. I don't know how old that bird is, but its escaped multiple times from ranger teams and I decided to go in rather than any of the Elite Four. I'd rather not hear another report of our forces failing to detain it again. I got lucky finding it here, I expected it to be on the western coast of Kanto by now."

"...But your dragonite...knocked it out in one blow..." Ash slowly spoke, eyes widening again at the scope of the sheer _power_ Lance wielded.

The Champion chuckled, "To tell you the truth, I'm _much_ more powerful than the Elite Four."

Ash was stunned. Just how powerful was the man leading the Kanto and Johto regions? If he wanted to ever ascend that level, he'd have to dedicate his time and focus only to training.

"Ash, how many pokemon do you have?" Lance inquired.

"Well I just started out a few hours ago, so all I caught was a male nidoran." His ears began to glow red in embarrassment as he realized what he wanted to say next, but a firm push of resolve forced the feeling away. "I don't plan on catching many pokemon mainly because...I want to specialize in dragon-types, like you." Ash forced himself to maintain eye contact with Lance, who raised his eyebrows. He wouldn't have the Champion viewing him as pathetic.

"Hmm...that certainly is an ambitious goal, to raise only dragons. It will be hard raising the most powerful pokemon in existence and earning their respect. Its not a task for just anyone." Ash's heart fell, and he reigned back an anguished yell. Was Lance disapproving of his dream?

"But," Lance continued, "I believe _you_ of all people can easily do it. I can see you command the utmost respect from Bagon already. You have the most potential I've ever seen in a rookie, even greater than I had. Who knows? Perhaps you'll be the next Dragon Master of Indigo.

"Now, I believe its time for me to depart, but I have a feeling I'll see you again soon. Now, I don't ordinarily do this, but I believe you can be trusted with my number."

Amazing. He was getting the Champion's number, now able to chat casually with perhaps the most powerful trainer in the world. He numbly handed his pokegear to the Champion, watching in an awed reverie as Lance imparted his number to the device. How lucky was he? At death's door mere minutes ago and now exchanging numbers with his idol. Bagon looked to be just as entranced as Ash was, finding a role model out of Lance's dragonite. The premature blue dragon had no idea how to respond to the overwhelming friendliness of the massive orange dragon. Ash dimly noticed Bagon's eyes jutting towards Dragonite's wings and a small grin spread across his face. Of course land-restricted Bagon found inspiration in the impenetrable dragonite's wings.

"It's time for me to be off, Ash." Lance spoke, handing the pokegear back to the trainer. He threw a disinterested glance at the unmoving body of Fearow, Dragonite still dutifully hovering near it while hopefully imparting some last-minute knowledge to Bagon. He plucked a pokeball adorned with strange symbols and expertly threw it at Fearow. Ash observed in confusion as the bright red light snared the raptor and caught it without any shaking of the ball. Lance, registering Ash's confusion, explain, "It's a special kind of ball meant for capturing renegade pokemon, or pokemon that the League wants to detain."

Lance reattached the pokeball to his belt and nodded at Dragonite. The behemoth smiled a farewell to Ash and Bagon and leaned back, allowing Lance to leap onto its back. Dragonite slowly began to elevate into the sky, following the opening it created in the forest's canopy when it first arrived. "Well Ash, this is it for now!" Lance shouted as his figure began to be obscured by the distance. "Just remember, I may leave some gifts for you ever so often in Pokemon Centers, so keep that in mind!"

And with a sudden boom of power that Ash could feel all the way down on the ground, Dragonite bolted out of sight, racing against the winds, Lance no doubt grinning wildly as he likely reclined on the massive dragon's back.

The euphoria of having his dreams fulfilled faded away, and with a quick glance down at Bagon, he could tell his friend felt the same way. "Well, buddy, that was quite a day. What do we say we hightail it to Viridian before it gets too dark?"

The dragon nodded tiredly and Ash stepped forward, but abruptly froze. "Wait...we...I don't know where to go." The now all-too familiar sinking sensation of his stomach spiked up again, and Ash cursed. Had he braved off against an elite-level raptor, met the most powerful trainer alive, only to get lost on Route One? All the excitement had taken him far off the path paved for travelers, what with catching Nidoran and fighting for his life against the unstable Fearow. He could easily call Lance or Professor Oak and admit he was lost to them, but those simply weren't options. He would forfeit his dream as a trainer if, right after all of Lance's praise, he got lost on a beginner's route and had to use the Champion as a taxi.

"Let's try and make our way back to the path-" Ash began, but felt a wave of _warmth_ washing over him, removing his reluctance and exhaustion. He and Bagon, who had apparently also been affected by the healing wave, turned around for the umpteenth time that day, and _stopped._

In the darkened evening sky, what he was witnessing seemed to be a beacon of light, a moving star, simply _oozing_ of power. A brilliant aura of red-hot yet calming flames surrounded whatever it was, and Ash knew exactly that: it was _Ho-Oh,_ the legendary bird pokemon rumored to have not been seen in _millennia._

Ash knew the legends all too well shrouding it; whoever saw it was said to have a pure heart, devout of any evil. It flew slowly, its dazzling red and green feathers gently swaying in the breeze, primordial flames raging within the immense bird keeping them warm. The bird continued drifting on, never ceasing pulsing the overwhelming waves of warmth.

As the titanic avian finally became indiscernible in the distance, having followed a path upward, a rejuvenated Ash swung his head down towards Bagon, who stared at Ash in pure amazement. "Well, buddy, we just saw our first legendary, and we'll try to not make it our last. Now...I think I'm pretty sure which direction leads to Viridian now." While Ho-oh had gone upward rather than straight forward, Ash felt certain that the general direction it was heading in led to Pewter, or at least would take them back to the path on Route One.

As he and Bagon began to take a few steps after Ho-oh, Ash felt an odd sensation on his arm; something had _prickled_ it. He looked down at his arm and froze at the sight of the vibrant red feather that penetrated his skin. It was _attached_ to him. It pulsed gently, and waves of warmness again spread over him, soothing his alarm.

Once again, he and Bagon were at a loss for words. It was implausible, just inconceivable; on his first day as a trainer, he was gifted with a rare dragon for a starter, fought against an elite-level pokemon, met the greatest man in Indigo, and saw the Legendary Bird that had not been known to man for thousands of years.

"Well," Ash began. "I think we've had quite a day. Let's head out now."

* * *

Either they had gotten very lucky again, or Ho-oh had blessed them, but whatever the cause, there was a spare room for Ash and Bagon at the Pokemon Center despite the late hour. Ash immediately ran to the nearest PC and dialed Professor Oak's number. A day this monumental simply could not be held to himself and his pokemon. Professor Oak and his mother would have to know.

The aging man picked up on the first ring. "Ah, Ash, you've made it to Viridian in less than a day! Gary's called me an hour ago"-Ash mentally cursed-"but I have yet to get a call from Leaf or Ritchie. I see you've caught a male Nidoran, which is great feat on Route One!"

Ash interjected before the Professor could ramble on. "Professor," He said quietly. "I need to tell you something."

Ash's tone immediately sobered Oak. "What is it, my boy?" He inquired seriously. Had something happened to the young trainer? Had he seen anything mentally scarring?

"I saw Ho-oh." Ash immediately registered the skeptical look on Oak's face and rolled up his sleeve, exposing the pulsing feather in all its glory. Oak had been ready to say something, but immediately silenced, staring at the quavering feather in awe.

But there was even more proof; Ash whipped out his Pokedex and flipped to the recent entries list. He swung it around to the Professor, who gaped in astonishment at the recording of Ho-oh in his own device.

Ash grinned at how _ludicrous_ his tales sounded. "And I even met Lance today." He proclaimed, pride seeping into his voice. He pulled out his pokegear, found Lance's number on it, and brandished it to the confounded Professor, knowing Oak likely knew the number and would be able to confirm it was true.

"...Ash, my boy, you are truly blessed. Ho-oh has not let itself been seen by man for over a thousand years, and it was you, a rookie trainer, who broke that record. Not only that, but you've apparently met Lance on your first day as a trainer and impressed him enough to get his number. You are truly amazing."

Amazing. It was the only word that could describe the events of his day. It was inconceivable that even a veteran could accomplish what he had, yet he, a trainer as of ten hours ago, had accomplished feats done only by people like Lance.

"Well Ash, you're probably tired out by now. Call your mother and let her know you're safe, and then rest up. Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything." Ash nodded as the screen flickered and then went dark. He rolled down his sleeve, the feather limp and unmoving for the time-being.

* * *

Ash was well into Viridian Forest by the time he settled down to rest. It was midday, and he intended to be in Pewter City before dark. He had set out early just for that goal.

His mother had been quite hysterical at Ash's news, and he'd had to cut that call short to avoid attracting any unwanted attention. The following morning, he had retrieved a fully healed Nidoran and hastily left Viridian. There wasn't anything to do there. The only notable attraction was the Viridian Gym, though the Gym Leader had been rumored to have disappeared for months now, and even so, it was meant as a final test for trainers before the Pokemon League.

He had properly introduced himself to Nidoran, though the poisonous rodent displayed none of the former aggression it had formerly shown. From Bagon's erratic gesticulations, it seemed that Nidoran was in reverence of Ash, having seen from its pokeball Ho-oh bestowing its presence in front of Ash.

Not that he had a problem with that. He was glad that Nidoran seemed to be unquestionably loyal to him now. It was too early in his journey for him to have experience or patience to deal with rebellious pokemon, although that would likely be the case later on as he acquired more dragons.

He expected Nidoran to be a nidorino far before Bagon would mature into a shelgon. Dragons tended to evolve incredibly late, and Ash recalled reading of a dragon advancing to its second stage by the time most other dragons were fully evolved. Neither of his friends were close to evolving, though they were racking up multitudes of experience from the innumerable Bug Catchers in the Forest.

As Ash finally sat down for a rest, Bagon and Nidoran dutifully slumping down behind him, Ash pondered his next actions. He obviously wasn't going to catch any pokemon from this forest, and was going to have study the physiology of poison-types, given that he was only knowledgeable concerning dragons, fire-types, and water-types, given that many dragons were also aquatic and those that weren't naturally spewed flames.

He would challenge the Pewter Gym at around this time tomorrow, he decided. He didn't want to waste any time idling in a city, especially a dull city like Pewter, which could only boast of a rocky terrain as an attraction. There was also its museum, and with current technology, scientists and Pewter and Cinnabar could allegedly revive prehistoric pokemon from fossils.

But that was enough musing. It was time for some training, just simple expansion of Bagon and Nidoran's respective movesets. The Pewter City Gym, led by Brock, specialized in rock types. Ash understood he wouldn't be fighting the Gym Leader's real team, the teams Leaders had from young ages and used to protect cities. Only the Viridian City Gym merged the Leader's Team with the League-required team, leading to an overbearingly difficult challenge, which was a huge factor in why the Viridian City Gym seldom handed out badges.

Bagon at the moment knew no fighting, water, grass, or steel-type moves, which were what rock-types were vulnerable to. But, eyeing the thick dome perched on Bagon's head, Ash hoped that the Dragon would be able to improvise Iron Head. Bagon actually did know a steel-type move, which was Iron Defense. By harnessing the energy required to engulf itself in an iron glaze of protection, perhaps Bagon could be taught to concentrate that energy in his skull and wield his head as a weapon.

Nidoran knew Double-Kick, which, put bluntly, involved the user kicking the opponent twice rapidly. It would prove useful, but Ash would need to access Nidoran's adeptness of the move. And against an armored behemoth like Onix, which Brock was notoriously known for using, a double kick from a pokemon of Nidoran's size would only serve as a minor hindrance. He'd need a way to build up the move's momentum, maybe through running or some stat-boosting move...

* * *

Pewter City was a bleak place, the surrounding buildings modeled after the colors of rock formations in the nearby wilderness. It was a large place, or at least seemed large to him since he'd never been out of Pallet Town. Ash wondered if Leaf and Ritchie had made it to Viridian Forest, and where Gary was now. The latter was likely leaving the city at this very moment, always a step ahead of Ash.

Thinking of his rival gave Ash a sudden surge of energy, and he immediately took off for the city's gym. Bagon and Nidoran were fully rested; there was no need to head to the Pokemon Center first.

Pewter was far larger than Ash had imagined, and he found himself sitting on a rock amongst a large piles of rocks in a secluded spot, resting his legs. Bagon and Nidoran were in their pokeballs; Ash didn't want to tax their stamina with a long walk right before the first gym battle of his life.

"Hey!" A rough voice barked. "You're sitting on my rocks!" Instantly alert, Ash leaped up, turning to see a taller and muscular middle-aged man with a dark hue of skin. His slit-eyes looked out of place on a face that dark and sporting so much facial hair, Ash noted.

"You're _rocks?"_ He asked skeptically. This man sold rocks of all things? He was already doubting the man's sanity.

"Yes, fool, my _rocks."_ He annunciated. "For sitting on my merchandise, give me two dollars." If Ash wasn't so amused, he would have had Bagon Headbutt this lunatic out of his face, but the man clearly needed money if he had to resort to selling rocks; Ash decided to play along and hand over the money.

"Here." The teen rolled his eyes as he pulled out two pokedollars. "All yours." The man greedily snatched the paper out of his hands and after a quick inspection, pocketed them within his torn, tattered pants. Before Ash could make his leave, the man spoke up again.

"I'm still selling; you want one?" The dark-skinned man gestured towards the assortment of plain rocks on the ground. Ash reigned back a laugh and decided to have some fun. He smirked at the man. "Sure, I'll take that one." He pointed at a large rock, about the size of his bag, with a duller luster than the rest. Recent technology provided for items to shrink once put in a bag, so Ash would have no trouble lugging the hunk of earth around.

"Ten dollars." Ash wondered how his mother would feel if she knew he spent ten dollars on a rock, but still retained a smirk. This certainly lightened up his mood before confronting Brock. He paid and placed the rock in his bag before making his leave, smirking one last time at the man before taking his leave.

Enough was enough, it was time to earn his first gym badge.

* * *

The Pewter Gym was just as dull as the rest of the infrastructure in the city, and as he pushed his way through the doors, the dimly lit room seemed to be made of entirely stone. There wasn't any lobby, it seemed; the front entrance led to the battling area. Ash could make out a figure hunched over on a stool on the far side of the room, and he suddenly felt nervous. Was that the gym leader? Was he expected to fight in the darkness, or was it all a strategy to test his confidence?

The lights flashed on, blinding Ash for a moment, and when he regained his bearings, the gym leader was now off the stool and near the middle of the battlefield. "Are you here for a battle?" He boomed in a deep, imposing voice. It sounded a bit forced to Ash, and he assumed that if this was Brock, he was trying to unnerve Ash.

"Yes, I am." Ash spoke strongly, his voice not betraying his inner turmoil. "I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town."

"And I am Brock. Gym Leader of Pewter! This will be a two on two battle, substitutions allowed for the challenger only. When both pokemon on one side are knocked out, the other side wins the battle. I hope you don't think just because you have a water-type you'll win; I'm tired of all the novices straining my patience! The battle begins now!" Without warning, Brock whipped out a pokeball and released a sturdy but otherwise ordinary geodude. Geodude were intriguing creatures, essentially rocks with a set of muscular arms, but normally were pretty weak.

Ash paused, then released Nidoran from his confines. The quiet rodent's eyes brimmed with anticipation as he registered the geodude. "You may go first!" Brock announced, and Ash quickly complied.

"Nidoran, Focus Energy, you know what to do!" Ash shouted, and the purple rodent nodded before stiffening, a white glow surrounding it, before the light shifted to his forelegs and the brightness peaked.

"Geodude, Rollout, it's poison won't hurt you!" Brock commanded, and the sturdy rock began hurtling towards Nidoran, rapidly gaining speed.

Ash grinned before calling out, "Double Kick!" Brock's eyes widened in horror as he realized Geodude was en route to meeting Nidoran's legs, engulfed in a super-effective-fighting type aura boosted by Focus Energy. When Geodude finally met Nidoran's legs, there was a loud crack before the armed rock was sent flying back towards Brock, unconscious.

The Rock-type virtuoso allowed Ash an impressed grin before saying, "Well-done, not many have taken Geodude out in only one hit. But...not many have _not_ been taken out by _Onix_ in one hit!" Before Ash could respond, a brilliant glow was emitted, before dying down to expose the massive and infamous rock-snake pokemon.

It had to be almost forty feet long, and it loomed over Ash, sparing Nidoran an unimpressed glance before letting out a deafening screech, the harsh sound of thousands of rocks falling. Ash covered his ears, blanching in the face of the fact that Nidoran's defenses had just been lowered.

"Onix, Tackle!" Brock yelled in triumph, and the rock-snake lunged at Nidoran, who barely had time to swerve to the side. The rodent couldn't avoid the full brunt of the attack, though, and it was scraped on the side by Onix's tail.

Ash knew that the weak point of Onix had to be at one of the small rocks near its tail, the ones that Onix rested on as it "stood". He knew Nidoran couldn't win this round, but he had to weaken Onix enough for Bagon to finish it off.

"Nidoran, Focus Energy again!" Ash called, eyeing Onix attentively.

"You can charge all you want, Onix is too powerful for you!" Brock laughed before ordering another Tackle. Onix threw itself at Nidoran once more, grunting in annoyance as the nimble rodent maneuvered a clean dodge.

"Nidoran, now, Double Kick on the rocks it's resting on!" Ash cried, knowing that if Nidoran missed, the battle could be lost. Brock blanched as Onix, who had just turned around to face Nidoran, stood no chance at dodging and roared in agony, a strident crack echoing throughout the gym.

"Onix, finish it!" Brock growled, his patience worn thin. As Nidoran desperately tried falling back while trying to nurse its bruised legs, Onix graced it with one last Tackle, the force of its seven hundred pound body being more than sufficient to knock out Nidoran.

Ash grinned as he recalled his fallen friend. "You did great, Nidoran," Ash whispered before releasing Bagon onto the field. "You're up, buddy! Finish this quick!"

Bagon showed none of the trepidation Nidoran had exuded upon Onix's appearance on the field; instead, the dragon eyed the snake with tenacious courage, ready to rend the snake into a pile of broken rocks.

"Bagon, Iron Defense!" Ash called out just in time for the dragon to raise a defense against Onix's next move, Rock Throw. The steel hue coating Bagon's body was more than a worthy defense against the small rocks Onix hurled at him.

Onix growled in rage, traces of agony seeping through, readying itself for another move. Brock stared at Bagon speculatively, recognizing the dragon as a greater threat than Nidoran. "Hmm...these are certainly some rare and interesting pokemon you're using here. It's almost always a Kanto Starter with a machop or some bug."

Ash nodded, not bothering to reply. He didn't doubt the sincerity of Brock's comments, but he knew the older trainer wanted to distract him. His suspicions were confirmed when Onix, after tucking its head in, launched itself at Bagon at a far greater speed than before.

"Its Skull Bash!" Brock shouted gleefully, to Ash's chagrin. "Your Bagon can't take this one!" Ash cursed, panic rising in his throat. He doubted Bagon could dodge the attack at such a speed; Onix would strike it in less than two seconds, not nearly enough time for a dodge clear of pain.

But once again, he was proved wrong, when in a stroke of luck, Bagon threw himself to the side, a pink glow coating him. It was Agility, Ash recognized. It seemed the dragon had a bit of physic potential stored within him, no matter how minute. That was definitely something to be remembered.

Onix's massive body impacted the place where Bagon once stood, a mere moment later, _screaming_ in unbridled frustration and agony at its latest miss. "Iron Head!" Ash screamed at Bagon, knowing this was one of his last chances to strike if Onix had such moves at its disposal. "Aim for the cracked rock near its tail!"

A silver aura, similar to the once Bagon exuded when performing Iron Defense, glowed on his domed head, and he darted at the fallen Onix, smashing it with all his might on the cracked rock, smashing it again when Onix opened its mouth. Bagon and Ash both eyed the fallen rock snake, watching its body spasm until it went completely limp.

"...You win." Brock said blankly. This trainer...had _potential._ He had managed to teach his pokemon moves they shouldn't know until over a dozen levels later and had harnessed psychic potential in a _dragon._ Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town would go _far._

A wild grin split Ash's face apart. "Bagon! We did it! We won our first gym!" Bagon roared, if a loud growl could be called that, and leaped up into the air, relatively uninjured from its bout with Onix.

Brock interrupted their impromptu celebration with a clearing of his throat. He smiled, "Good job, the both of you. You did great. Ash, I now present to you the Boulder Badge." Brock handed the trainer a polished piece of glass resembling a boulder, which Ash took in reverence. He would need this badge for entry to the Indigo Conference, and he would guard it and any other badges with his life.

Ash recalled Bagon and shook hands with Brock, still giddy from his success. "Well, Brock, I think it's time for me to be going, I need to heal Nidoran." He dimly noticed Brock had already recalled the fallen Onix as he walked through the gym doors, his initial trepidation now only an unpleasant memory. As Ash stepped into the fading daylight, he was too preoccupied with his thoughts to notice the lunatic who had sold him a rock step into the gym.

He was done here. After a good night's rest, he and his friends would venture through the looming Mt. Moon.

 **Another short chapter, but wanted to get this done. Wonder what role that rock Ash got will play in the story? Sorry for slow updates, I've been way too busy lately. Review please! My aim was to make every chapter at least 10k words, maybe next chapter will uphold that.**


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